Margaret Walker Center
An archive and museum dedicated to the preservation, interpretation, and dissemination of African American history and culture. Founded by Margaret Walker in 1968.
Current operational status
Ayer Hall closed due to ongoing renovations
Please note that, due to ongoing renovations, Ayer Hall will be closed to visitors until further notice. We are, however, still operating out of the COFO Civil Rights Education Center and accepting in-person researchers. For research requests or other questions, email mwa@jsums.org.
COFO Center closed due to John R. Lynch Street construction
The COFO Civil Rights Education Center will be closed until Monday, July 13 (tentative reopening), due to a John R. Lynch Street construction project. Gallery 1 is open until further notice! Email mwa@jsums.org with any questions. Thank you for your understanding.
Preserving African American history & culture since 1968
The Margaret Walker Center is an archive and museum dedicated to the preservation, interpretation, and dissemination of African American history and culture.
Founded as the Institute for the Study of the History, Life, and Culture of Black People by Margaret Walker in 1968, the Center seeks to honor her academic, artistic, and activist legacy through its archival collections, exhibits, and public programs.
Thanks to support from the Mellon Foundation, we are working on plans for a 21st century archive and museum to be built on the campus of Jackson State University.
- Center
- Margaret Walker Center (MWC)
- Founded
- 1968 by Margaret Walker
- Original Name
- Institute for the Study of the History, Life, and Culture of Black People
- Parent College
- College of Liberal Arts
- Building
- Historic Ayer Hall (1903)
- Phone
- (601) 979-3935
- mwa@jsums.org
The Center by the numbers
1968
Founded
~1,000
Oral History Interviews
7
Collection Categories
1903
Ayer Hall Built
2026 events & commemorations
Jubilee Picnic 2026
Save the Date — Margaret Walker Center's Jubilee Picnic in the Student Center Ballroom A at JSU on July 7, 2026, at noon.
56th Annual Gibbs-Green Commemoration
Thursday, May 14, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. on Gibbs-Green Plaza. Also includes the Ben Brown Freedom Trail Marker Unveiling and Tribute to Lap Baker. Reception follows in the Johnson Hall Art Gallery.
Jubilee — A Folk Opera
Adaptation of Margaret Walker's celebrated novel Jubilee as a folk opera — an ongoing project from the Center.
2026 CASE Festival
Creative Arts and Scholarly Engagement Festival — featuring keynote speaker Dr. Evie Shockley.
Honoring the Gibbs-Green Commemoration
Phillip Gibbs · James Earl Green
The Margaret Walker Center proudly stewards the 56th Annual Gibbs-Green Commemoration, an enduring observance of Jackson State University's civil rights legacy. The 2026 commemoration also incorporated the Ben Brown Freedom Trail Marker Unveiling and a tribute to Lap Baker — events held at the Gibbs-Green Plaza with a reception in the Johnson Hall Art Gallery.
Community engagement & cultural preservation
The Margaret Walker Center continues to collect living memories, archival records, and personal papers for scholarly use; advocates the preservation of the built environment such as historic 1903 Ayer Hall, which is the oldest structure on the Jackson State University campus and was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.
The Center engages the community through public programs, literacy projects, and educational workshops, and works with other JSU departments across the campus.
Significant holdings open to the public
Open to the public, the Center houses significant records including:
· The papers of the late Margaret Walker —
celebrated American author, poet, and Pulitzer-nominated novelist (Jubilee).
· Papers of the former U.S. Secretary of Education, Roderick
Paige.
· An oral history department that includes nearly 1,000
interviews.
· Museum and exhibit spaces highlighting the
Center's collections and the history of Jackson State University.
Ayer Hall — the oldest structure on JSU's campus
COFO Civil Rights Education Center
The COFO Civil Rights Education Center is part of the Margaret Walker Center's portfolio of programming.
The COFO building was the state headquarters for the umbrella civil rights group, the Council of Federated Organizations, which operated the Mississippi Freedom Summer Project from this site in 1964.
The COFO Center is available for tours and group meetings.
Explore the Center's archival holdings
National partnerships & recognitions
The Margaret Walker Center is proud to be affiliated with the following organizations:
- African American Civil Rights Network
- Association of African American Museums (AAAM) Institutional Member
- American Writers Museum Affiliate
- Catherine Coleman Literary Arts, Food, & Justice
- Participating Member — Distinctive Destinations (National Trust for Historic Preservation)
- Mellon Foundation
Support the Margaret Walker Center
Help us preserve African American history and culture for future generations. Donate, subscribe to our listserv, or schedule a visit.
Contact the Margaret Walker Center
College of Liberal Arts
Jackson State University
Ayer Hall
1400 J.R. Lynch Street
P.O. Box 17008
Jackson, MS 39217